chiiz

Cute, Needs Development

I was interested in this show because of Kang Ha Neul, who’s always fantastic, and because I love food. The concept was promising and looked for a heartwarming watch.

The acting, especially from KHN, was fantastic. The FL also did a good job, and I fell in love with the supporting cast.

The story felt only half-finished. Sometimes I like a shorter series, but ironically this one could have benefited from a normal 16 ep run. Even though it only ran for 10 the pacing felt off—it dragged at lots of points and wrapped up too fast in others.

I personally didn’t have a problem with the ending. It felt realistic that it wasn’t a clichéd victory for the good guys and sent a message that we must live our lives for ourselves and what we believe in; things may not be perfect, but we can find things in life that make us happy. My problem with the story was the half-developed relationship between the leads. I saw hints of romantic chemistry, but it had way more potential.

I did like the ML growth, it was done fairly well in the last 3 episodes. However, because of the shorter run, it felt rushed. A longer series would have added in more examples of his growth. The trailer implied we would get concrete examples, but it was very limited. I also wish we learned more about the FL and her cooking journey; the times we did I was left wanting a bit more and way less of the ex-bf. While it was nice to see her tie up loose ends, two whole episodes was too much time to devote to the ex.

Visually, it was beautiful. I felt the passion and care that went into each cooking scene, and I felt lighthearted.

Overall, it was cute. Would I watch it again? No. But I will commend the actors for giving their best, despite feeling like their characters had more to offer.

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Cute, but Slightly Adrift

This show’s strength is in its actors. Song Kang and Kim Yoo Jung carried the show both individually and as a pair. Without their acting chemistry, this wouldn’t have been as popular as it was. Their love story is in parts wholesome, hilarious, and tragic and perfectly conveyed by the leads.

This show’s weakness is its story. It started off very promising; it wasn’t anything new, but it began with a pretty good momentum that had me hooked. After about halfway through it floundered and the pacing was all over the place. It also couldn’t see to choose a tone, sometimes being super serious and tense and other times super silly.

The villain/murder plot had a lot of potential to be great but the writers revealed everything too early. Instead of building up suspicion and characterization of the family, it was revealed early on who the real antagonist was. Furthermore, the answer was pretty obvious and by the time the “truth” was revealed to the characters, viewers had guessed major plot points long ago. With a 16 episode run, they could have spent that time padding out plot lines strategically but failed to do so.

Another waste was the second leads. Gu-won and Ga Young had zero chemistry, and her character seemed wholly unnecessary. Seok Hoon’s second lead syndrome was also half-written and didn’t need to be a plot point either. I actually thought Seok Hoon was going to be revealed as the main antagonist because Seok Min was way too obvious.

Overall, it was an enjoyable show but many parts lacked in development. The best part of the story was the main love plot and their past connection, but had the potential to be a lot better. Probably wouldn’t watch again, but it’s definitely far from the worst I’ve seen.

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Sickeningly Sweet

This show gave me a toothache! It was so disgustingly adorable and I’d gladly watch again. Did it have a strong story? Eh. Did it have a main couple with good chemistry? Absolutely! Sometimes I enjoy a kdrama that isn’t super soapy and has a couple breakup or dumb misunderstandings. Sometimes I like to see meaningless fluff and that’s okay. Sure, many plot points were added in as a second thought, but I didn’t mind. I believe this show was created just to be cute and nothing else, which is great. If you need a pick-me-up just watch this one. Junho and Yoona’s lead chemistry was so good that it had me believing they were a real couple.

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My Stomach Hurts From Laughing

I went in expecting a wild ride and was not disappointed! Lee Dong Wook and Wi Ha Joon had fantastic acting chemistry and delivered a bromance/cop drama that left me in stitches.

Each actor was perfectly suited for the role. I loved Dong Wook’s easy portrayal of a very flawed main character, but his flaws are not a detriment to my enjoyment. The way the story tackled his moral compass and growth was brilliantly done and I couldn’t dislike him if I tried. It was very touching to see the man his character became in the end.

Wi Ha Joon was responsible for the majority of the laughs and surprisingly some of the most touching moments. He personified “crazy” but had a level of depth I wasn’t initially expecting but became more apparent as the show went on.

The supporting cast was also a love able bunch of chaotic weirdos and fit in with the leads and story well. I wish we had gotten more of them.

Story wise, it was good but not without flaws. The first few episodes set things up wonderfully and had me on the edge of my seat. It began to slow down in the middle and almost crashed at the end. While it wasn’t a bad ending, it felt a bit rushed and anticlimactic. Like many shows with a 12 episode run, it could have benefited from being 16 instead. It would have been great to see more from the characters, Su-yeol’s development, sub-storylines, and a more polished main antagonist arc. I was left wanting more, which in this case wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Definitely check this one out if you a love action, a good laugh, have a sense of justice, and mysterious vigilantes.

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Funtime For Foodies

If you’re a foodie and love K-dramas then you’ve come to the right place! The camera work and detail that went into making this happen was fantastic and really brought everything to life.

The cast was also great. I fell in love with all the characters! Yoon A and Chae Min were brilliant; Chae Min’s performance felt so natural for him and his acting in the last few episodes was especially poignant. I didn’t want to leave any of these characters!

If I could make a small change it would be to make it a full 16 episode run. The 12 episode run may have worked if 3 episodes weren’t dragged out for the Ming envoy storyline. While the last two episodes made up for it, I felt as though the historical aspects were overshadowed by cooking. Im certainly not complaining, but the tonal shift was a bit jarring. The scheming and history plot line was pushed into the background until the end.

I was glad we got a happy ending. It definitely made up for the trauma we all felt with Scarlett Heart lol.

Would definitely watch again! Overall it was a good time and even garnered a good cry towards the end. I was rooting for our good guys all the way through.

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My Heart…

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in. I knew Cho Yi Hyun from All of Us Are Dead but otherwise had no other knowledge of it. It surpassed any expectations and was charming, funny, emotional, and heartfelt. The overall cast was amazing, but I’d say Cho Yi Hyun, Choo Young Woo, and Choo Ja Hyun were the standouts! Young Woo’s ability to switch so seamlessly between Gyeon-u and Bong-su was impressive and he made both equally likeable. Yi Hyun is adorable as always, and she brought so much sincerity to her character. The love triangle managed to be cute and wholesome without ruining the plot; the 3 leads had a great dynamic and I wish we could have seen more of them! I also wish we got to see more of adult Seong-A and Gyeong-u’s budding relationship…
Overall a very enjoyable watch. I laughed a lot, blushed, and cried. Definitely a rewatch!

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